Doing what is right occasionally or for a short while will not bring the breakthroughs we need in life. Second Thessalonians 3:13 exhorts us to continue doing the right thing. We must do it over and over and over, and when we feel ourselves becoming weary, we should go to God and wait on Him to give us fresh strength so we are enabled by His grace to press through to the completion of His will.
Doing what is right when we do not seem to be getting right results is difficult, but it must be done. When a farmer plants seed in the ground, he must keep his patient vigil over it until it finally spouts and produces a harvest. It is a process that takes time and effort. If the farmer gives up on his garden and stops caring for it, he will miss the joy of harvest.
One of Satan's favourite things to do to us is to try to get us to give up! However, God tells us to endure, persist, continue, and finish. He teaches us to be long-suffering, patient, determined, and steadfast.
My experience has taught me that I often have to treat other people rightly for a long time before they begin to treat me the same way. I have to do the right thing with a right attitude for a long time before I start getting right results. Just as natural seed finally takes root and the beginning of a plant breaks through the ground, we also will see breakthrough if we continue to do the right thing, regardless of what others do.
People frequently give up too easily. When their feelings quit on them, they quit too. I have learned that I can feel wrong and still choose to do what is right. One sign of spiritual maturity is the ability to live beyond our feelings. People who are spiritually mature live by decisions made based on God's Word, not on how they feel. When we advance to this stage of growth we are well on our way to a wonderful harvest that will leave us amazed.
Let me encourage you today: Do not give up; keep on keeping on!
~Joyce Meyers (The Everyday Life Bible)
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